Psyllium is a known mucilaginous material derived from seeds from the plants of the Plantago genus, which is grown in certain sub-tropical regions of the world. The seeds are dark brown, smooth, boat shaped and shiny. Psyllium is an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fibers and has a proven cholesterol-lowering effect. In addition to its cholesterol lowering effects, psyllium is well known for its bulk laxative effect. Psyllium seed is used in whole, ground or dehusked form to make a variety of psyllium containing products, including cookies, laxative drink mixes, and other foodstuffs.
Psyllium is mucilagenous in nature and acquires a slimy or adhesive texture and mouthfeel upon hydration. This slimy mouthfeel is unpalatable and, accordingly, various additives have been incorporated in psyllium-containing ingestible compositions to mask the undesirable texture and mouthfeel of psyllium. In addition, psyllium develops a distinctive, undesirable flavor and color in the presence of heat and moisture which further limits its use in food products.
The mucilagenous nature of psyllium husks and of soluble fibers in general presents grave processing difficulties and there have been numerous prior attempts to produce palatable food products. Difficulties notwithstanding, the desirable therapeutic effects provided by psyllium have led to many prior psyllium-containing formulations. For example, various psyllium containing foodstuffs have been proposed which purport to take advantage of the natural digestion regulation properties of psyllium, or the satiating effect of psyllium. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,574,634 and 4,348,379.
It has also been suggested, e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,114, that whole psyllium husks, such as the ground husks of the seed Plantago psyllium, lower blood cholesterol upon oral administration thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,222 discloses a medicament composition for reducing blood cholesterol levels in humans and lower animals which comprises a mixture of psyllium seed gum, or a source of psyllium seed gum, and a nonabsorbable, nondigestible polyol polyester.
Prior attempts have been made to overcome the problems of using psyllium in ready-to-eat cereal and bakery products such as cookies. U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,248, hereby incorporated by reference, describes preparation of an extruded psyllium nugget that is incorporated into cereal and baked products such as cinnamon cookies.
Prewetted psyllium and an extruded psyllium nugget have also been used to overcome processing difficulties associated with psyllium, as described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,384,136; 5,384,144; and 5,223,298.
Psyllium-containing snack foods are very desirable because snack foods provide consumers with a convenient, readily available food source that requires little or no preparation time. Various types of snack products are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,240 to Addesso et al. discloses a chip-like snack prepared by admixing wheat flour, a no or low gluten content starching material such as potato starch, pregelatinized waxy starch and water to form a dough having a tachifier value of 2500 to 4000 gas. The dough is sheeted and cut into pieces which are heated to reduce moisture content to obtain a blistered appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,093 to Fazzolore et al. discloses a starch based blistered chip-like product wherein a starch and water composition is steamed to form a dough-like consistency, wadering the composition forming snack pieces and looking to produce the chip like product.
Psyllium-containing snack foods would provide consumers with a very simple means to obtain the health benefits associated with psyllium and to provide consumers with alternatives to presently available psyllium-containing food products.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide psyllium-containing baked snack products and methods for preparing the snacks that have superior taste and mouthfeel, and are an excellent source of psyllium. A method for the production of the psyllium snack product is also provided herein.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide psyllium containing baked snacks which are palatable and useful for reducing serum cholesterol levels. Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and examples thereof.